Work Begins Mid-November
Chios Island National Airport will shut its doors to passenger traffic on the evening of 15 November 2026, according to the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority. The closure will last until 15 March 2027, leaving the Greek island without regular air service for four months while contractors complete a major runway expansion.
The project aims to extend the runway to 1,799 metres and modernise surrounding infrastructure. Once finished, the upgraded facility should accommodate larger aircraft and improve safety standards ahead of the 2027 tourist season. Work on the terminal building started in 2022 and wrapped up in 2025; the runway extension began the same year.
Currently, the airport operates with a shortened runway that limits service to turboprop aircraft with smaller passenger loads. The authority says the winter shutdown is necessary to carry out construction safely, particularly given weather conditions during the colder months. The revised schedule compresses the second and third construction phases from five months to four, with the contractor targeting completion by 28 February 2027.
Emergency Flights Only
During the closure, emergency helicopter operations will continue. Medical evacuations, search-and-rescue missions, firefighting, humanitarian flights and government operations will still be permitted, with helicopters allowed to land on the airport's parking apron. Scheduled passenger services, however, will cease entirely.
Chios is Greece's fifth-largest island, sitting in the northern Aegean close to the Turkish coast. The airport typically handles domestic routes to Athens and Thessaloniki, operated by Aegean Airlines, SKY express and Olympic Air. For residents who rely on those connections for healthcare appointments, family visits and business travel, the four-month gap represents a significant disruption.
Holiday Season Squeeze
Local officials and business leaders have criticised the timing. The original plan reportedly called for closure from 15 January, which would have allowed flights to continue through Christmas and New Year. Moving the shutdown forward by two months means islanders face the festive period without air access.
Pantelis Legatos, president of the Chios Chamber of Commerce, warned that the earlier closure would seriously affect economic and social activity. Many residents have already arranged family visits, medical appointments and travel plans around the holiday period. He also pointed to the island's dependence on air links to Athens for essential services, particularly healthcare.
Pantelis Vroulis, deputy governor of Chios, has proposed a compromise: allow the airport to operate during the holiday season even if construction starts in November, then complete the works before Easter. That suggestion has not been adopted.
Economic Concerns
Local authorities describe the closure as economic strangulation. Tourism, while concentrated in summer, still contributes to winter income through off-season visitors and business travel. Ferry services remain available, but they add time and complexity to journeys that were previously quick hops to the mainland.
The Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority maintains that the temporary suspension is essential for completing the upgrades safely and ensuring reliable air connections once the busy 2027 season begins. The authority also notes that combining two construction phases and accelerating the timetable will ensure smooth operations during Easter and summer, when visitor numbers peak.
What Travellers Need to Know
Anyone planning to visit Chios between mid-November 2026 and mid-March 2027 will need to rely on ferry services. The island has regular maritime connections to Piraeus and other Aegean ports, though journey times are considerably longer than flights.
For residents, the four-month closure represents a trade-off: short-term inconvenience in exchange for a modernised airport that should improve connectivity and support tourism growth in the years ahead. Whether that trade-off feels fair depends largely on how much notice people had to adjust their plans, and whether alternative transport options can fill the gap without adding unreasonable cost or delay.
